just procrastinating

Why Obama, by Ayelet Waldman

Why Obama is a series of guest essays by musicians and authors, where they share their support for Democratic United States presidential nominee Senator Barack Obama and offer arguments why he needs to be elected president of the United States.

In her own words, here is Ayelet Waldman’s Why Obama essay:

When the idea for books4barack first occurred to me, I hoped to raised two or three thousand dollars for Barack Obama’s historic campaign. In my wildest dreams I never imagined that the figure would be close to $40,000. Thanks to all of you, this ridiculous project has been a resounding success. We’ve sold more baskets than we have books, a boggling feat, considering how many books are spilling out of boxes in my living room. We won’t be taking anymore book bag donations, but we urge you to please consider donating anyway, even without the books. Writers, keep sending your books in. Please. We need lots more to fulfill the orders we already have.

The response had nothing to do with the idea, or with me, and everything to do with the historic candidacy of Barack Obama. All of us feel a profound sense of urgency. For the first time we can imagine voting not just against a person or a party (although, God knows, there’s a lot to vote against), but for someone. For someone who demands of this country that we rise to his example. That we become our best selves.

Since our children were small, Michael and I have been telling them a story about America. We’ve been telling them that this complicated nation has a complicated history. That just as Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Edison, and the Wright brothers figure in its history, so do slavery, the Trail of Tears, and Korematsu v. United States. We’ve described our country’s history as a heroic struggle for change inspired by leaders like Susan B. Anthony, Medgar Evers, and Chief Tecumseh. Because of their sacrifices, and the sacrifices of ordinary people, America left behind those ugly days, we tell our children, and today we live in a better place. We’ve told these stories with our fingers crossed behind our backs, because even as we celebrate progress, we think of Guantanamo Bay and Pelican Bay, and even as we celebrate change, we think of the fact that a woman still earns 77 cents to a man’s dollar.

On January 21st, my family will be standing on the Mall where the Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr. gave the speech that inspired generations, watching Barack Obama raise his hand and take the oath of office. At that moment, the America of our myths and stories will come true. At that moment, we will uncross our fingers, raise our hands to the sky and begin another story.

Ayelet Waldman links:

Ayelet Waldman’s website Books 4 Barack

Barack Obama links:

Barack Obama presidential campaign website Books 4 Barack Barack Rock!

also at Largehearted Boy:

other Why Obama essays Book Notes (authors create playlists for their book) Note Books (musicians discuss literature) guest book reviews musician/author interviews

tags: politics music literature obama

Related posts: Tax free weekend south carolina, Eosinophilic enteropathy, Zane website, Kerry killinger, Battleground earth

Audit: Math tests that students failed were not flawed

an independent audit of georgia’s math tests has found that questions on the criterion-referenced competency test strongly matched what the state says students should learn, supporting the state’s position that faulty exams did not contribute to high failure rates.

Idaho Cheerleaders Lose Skimpy Outfits

The Boise State University Cheerleaders
The Boise State University Cheerleaders Win 2008 USA National College Cheerleading Championship! Las Vegas, NV., February 11, 2007: Bronco fans have known it all season, but it’s …

Town talk diner

boise, idaho (ap) — less than a month into the football condition, the idaho vandals are undergoing another makeover after spectators complained that cheerleaders’ uniforms were flashing a little more than school spirit.

University of Idaho Cheerleaders

CSI Cheerleaders
At the College of Southern Idaho, winning is expected. Like the rich history of its six sports programs, championships are a tradition. The Golden Eagles have brought home 16 …

Department Name Here Idaho State University
ISU Cheerleaders reading to children at the Pine Ridge Mall in Pocatello, Idaho.

Portraits and candid photos of the cheergirls of the University of Idaho.

Related posts: Tax free weekend south carolina, Mccain sturgis, Did phelps win, Freedom fries, Zimbabwe sanctions call ‘racist’

Ex-CO Gets 10 Years For Chase, Cop Assault

suffolk county—former corrections officer linda harley of bellport was sentenced thursday to 10 years in prison for cardinal police on a high-belt along follow in the eastbound lanes of the long archipelago expressway from exit 33 in nassau to the yaphank lie exit. after a three week annoyance in may, harley, 57, was convicted of attempted aggravated …

Grand Ayatollah Sistani HACKED

Jitters hit top Wall Street banks

looks corresponding to it was a sunni conglomeration going after the highest authority in shia islam’s online presence [warning: accomplishable malware left by hackers]. the hackers defacement note says something just about being a rise sistani’s sexual deviations — very likely alluding to…

Related posts: Cheap bedding, Half blood prince trailer aol, Gene expansion, Jets redskins, Zane website

Cops sending a message with large-scale warrant arrest raid

It’s 6 a.m. on Tuesday and more than a dozen cops are zooming around the city in unmarked police cruisers searching for about 20 criminals wanted on court warrants.

“It’s like going fishing,” said Police Capt. Paul Upton. “You never know what you’re going to catch.”

Somerville police typically assist state police with warrant operations in the city about once a month, but this week’s operation is a little different. It’s the first time in years that the local police department has mounted a warrant arrest operation of this magnitude on its own.

“We’re trying to send the message that if you’re a dangerous criminal and in Somerville, we’re going to come get you,” said Police Chief Tony Holloway.

Holloway said the warrant arrest raid is a way of showing criminals local cops are serious about enforcing crime. The move also comes in the wake of increasing gang violence and efforts to stem problems with crime, according to Holloway.

Holloway, who has been on the job in Somerville for about five months, drove the van used to transport prisoners back to the station and the ranking officers appear thrilled by the new chief’s hands-on policing techniques.

Just before 7 a.m. one team of officers and detectives parked their cruisers on Hudson Street and walked to number 85 — a cute house with a white picket fence, flowering hanging plants on the porch and a garden gnome in the yard.

When police lead 39-year-old Cathleen McCarthy out of the house in handcuffs, she doesn’t seem surprised.

“Is this going to be in the Journal?” McCarthy asks a detective when she sees a reporter.

Police are familiar with McCarthy from past arrests. This time she’s wanted on warrants for negligent driving, leaving the scene of personal injury, leaving the scene of property damage and speeding.

There’s another arrest at Foss Park and one more on McGrath Highway near the railroad bridge. As the clock ticks past 8 a.m., the arrests are few and far between.

The best time to catch criminals is between 6 and 8 a.m., according to Upton. Every minute that goes by after 8 a.m., it become exponentially more difficult to find the wanted criminal at home.

in the end, the function alone netted three arrests.

In addition to McCarthy, Patrick Hayes, 47, of 250 Broadway, is charged on four warrants, all for violating an abuse prevention order and Tiago Vargas, 40, of 50 Franklin St., is charged with a warrant for shoplifting by concealing merchandise.

But Capt. Charles Femino, who organized the entire operation, said it’s not a total loss. If cops discover a wanted criminal has moved addresses, they can update the warrant and have a better chance of making the arrest next time.

Related posts: Battleground earth, Las meninas, Bette davis eyes, Gene expansion, Cuil google

Competitors from across the world have gathered at a pub in Greater Manchester for the World Black Pudding Throwing Championship.

Thousands are watching entrants from as far afield as Hong Kong, Africa and Sweden compete at the Royal Oak in the village of Ramsbottom, Bury.

The aim is to knock Yorkshire puddings off a 20ft ledge by throwing black puddings at them.

The contest is supposed to represent the Lancashire/Yorkshire rivalry.

Jets vs patriots

Organiser Elaine Singleton says you need real ability to take part.

“It is skilful for a start. You can’t throw overarm - you’ve got to throw underarm and it’s got to be precise otherwise you won’t hit any puddings.

“You try lobbing a pudding underhand 20ft up - you’ve got to have some weight behind you to do that!”

She added that the unusual competition was attracting as many participants as ever.

“Plenty want to do it. I get phone calls from all over the world to come here.”

The popular competition was saved in 2003 after the previous venue closed.

Black pudding is traditionally made of cooked pig blood, fat and rusk, encased in a length of intestine.

The contest dates back to the 1850s and is believed to be a revival of the Lancashire-Yorkshire rivalry.

Historically Bury, now part of Greater Manchester, was in Lancashire.

Related posts: Freedom fries, Crohn, Did phelps win, Zane website, Lauren franco

Ike leaves wake in Southeast Texas

Inland Southeast Texas may not have been hit as bad as some feared by Hurricane Ike, but the storm has downed power lines, closed highways and wrecked homes in rural areas between Houston and Beaumont.

Along Interstate 10 just east of Houston, deep pools of water forced traffic onto frontage roads at numerous points. Trucker Daniel Torrez ran into water just east of Houston, stranding his rig. Torrez, stripping down to his boxers in the humidity, passed the time until rescue crews arrived by crawling onto the backside of the cab.

Authorities closed I-10 about half an hour east of Houston, routing eastbound traffic onto back roads. Those who wanted to push toward Beaumont were told to wind their way to Ranch Road 1409, a two-lane road that ran through small communities strewn with debris.

Uab football

Branches littered the road and greenery from the pine trees coated stretches of roadway. The two lanes sometimes narrowed to one because of downed branches or power lines. Drivers crept through these areas, and at several points, residents helped direct cars. A steady rain drummed against the windshields.

In Dayton, a town along 1409 with a population of about 4,700, Paul Thibodeux stopped to help stranded cars.

“My trailer’s smashed,” he said, getting out of his Dodge Charger and pointing toward a mobile home that was pierced by a large branch.

Thibodeux was on his way out of town “to my mom’s in Bay City. Her house got hit real hard by a tree.”

Related posts: The suite life of zack and cody, Channel Tunnel remains closed after freight blaze
(Reuters)
, Fedor vs sylvia video, Susan casey, Bette davis eyes

WowBacon Microwave Bacon Cooker

From Serious Eats

you know, you’re just askin’ notwithstanding failure when you use a microwave for anything other than reheating leftovers or popping popcorn. but i’m weirdly exhausted to this crazy bacon-cooking contraption. hang the strips from the lid of the wowbacon cooker pitcher and the fat renders down into the bottom while it cooks. sure, you’re not going to get as risqu? a bacon trial as you would if you pan-cooked the strips, but think of the assuage of collecting the fat for use in other recipes. my guess is that this would be perfect towards a recipe that called for breakable-cooked bacon?though who knows how well a microwave would do “crisp.” $19.95 plus $7 shipping and handling, from wowbacon.com [via boing boing]

Kansas football

Related posts: Velo club, Apple powerbook g4, Jersey freeze, Bette davis eyes, Eosinophilic enteropathy

PARIS (Reuters) - A major fire aboard a freight train damaged the undersea Channel Tunnel on Thursday, halting all rail traffic, including passenger services, between Britain and continental Europe, the tunnel operator said.

Lashon dixon

Eurotunnel, the company which manages the tunnel, said there would be no freight or passenger travel on Friday and a spokesman said he could not say when services would resume.

The blaze turned one of the two main tunnel shafts into a smoking inferno. No one was killed, but six people fell ill after inhaling fumes and needed hospital treatment in Calais.

The French interior minister said emergency services had contained the fire some four hours after it was first detected and were starting to assess the situation.

"It is probable that there is considerable damage because the firemen told me that the blaze got as hot as 1,000 degrees (Celsius)," Interior Minister Michelle Alliot-Marie said.

She said it might take "several weeks" to make the necessary repairs to the tunnel normally dedicated to freight transport, but a separate, parallel tunnel reserved for passenger trains was not touched by the flames, but

Eurostar, which runs the passenger trains between London and the continent, was forced to shut down its service when the blaze took hold.

EVACUATION

Any prolonged disruption to services would be a major blow for Eurotunnel, which only posted its first profit last year.

Officials said they believed the fire started on one of the lorries loaded aboard the freight service, which then spread.

When the flames were detected, the French-bound train was brought to a halt some 11 km (7 miles) short of the French end of the tunnel, and the 32 people aboard the shuttle were evacuated through a service tunnel.

There was no passenger train in the tunnel at the time of the fire and all shuttles were turned back, leaving thousands of passengers stranded in Paris, London and Brussels.

Scores of lorries were also backed up on roads leading to the freight terminals in both Britain and France as drivers waited for a return to normal services.

About 40,000 people a day use Eurostar

Related posts: Lauren franco, Gene expansion, Zimbabwe sanctions call ‘racist’, Batman dethrones Spidey as superhero king, Apple powerbook g4

Virginia Tech Football
… football, basketball, baseball and recruiting coverage and breaking news of the Virginia Tech Hokies. … Positional Prognosis: VT vs. Furman. by Doug Bowman …

Growing Ike nears Turks and Caicos, south Bahamas
(AP)

TechSideline.com: Your Virginia Tech Sports Source
Football Game Preview: Virginia Tech vs. Furman. By Chris Coleman, TechSideline.com … has guided Ocean Lakes (Virginia Beach, VA) to two consecutive wins in …

ESPN - Furman vs. Virginia Tech - Recap - December 28, 2003
NCAA Women’s Basketball Recap: Final statistics from the Furman vs. Virginia Tech game played on December 28, 2003 … BLACKSBURG, Va. (AP) — Ieva Kublina …

Related posts: Velo club, Ron suskind, Zimbabwe sanctions call ‘racist’, Cuil google, Zane website

We have moved - updated

we can now be found atthey gave us a republic……and we intend to keep itthis site desire be retained as an archive, but 8/8/08 was the last light of day of crossposting.to answer the concerns of those who sooner a be wearing emailed me,the sidebars and all of the assembled information here at one’s desire scraps sound.thank you again for reading what we posted here, and for weighing in with your comments.your support of this placement gave us the campaign we needed to move up to hosting our own domain.i know that there are a only one thoroughgoing readers who won’t join the conversation one more time therebecause the new blog requires registration to comment, and we are sorry thatyour voices won’t be have a share of the conversation over there.we hope that you be afflicted with around to joining us a particular of these days,but for those who won’t, i would parallel to to keep up an invitation to youto jump start things over atwatching those we chosewtwc is a collect blog that i started right after the 2006 elections.it has a great group of regular contributors that you ought to be reading anyway,i have somewhat neglected wtwc lately, and need to give it a little tlcnow that the new place is up and running.most of my stuff and some of warren’s gets crossposted there,in fact, the nightowl newswrap actually started over there,where it was originally called at the end of the day…the comment structure is haloscan, after all is said as it was here.badtux, you be sure i’m talkin’ to you (and a scattering other people, as well) here,and some of you (badtux, notthere, jerry) used to comment down there,on the eve of i scarcely killed the place with benign forget.anyway, the point is, you acquire options. in fact, i’m kinda counting on youto help me resuscitate a melodic damned good blog that utilized to be- and can be again -a uninjured lot better!besides, difference is kind! and we didn’t even forget the neighborhood…we just moved to a nicer apartment!~bg

Related posts: Mccain sturgis, Kerry killinger, Bloom s syndrome, The suite life of zack and cody, Apple powerbook g4